Sports

[gardenman]

Falcons' defensive end (and former Eagle) Steven Means tore his ACL and is gone for the season. That makes life interesting for the Falcons as his likely replacement is a former quarterback. As a general rule, guys from transitioning from QB don't become defensive ends. That could be interesting to watch.

I really do think a lot of players are stronger than they need to be these days. ACL's and Achilles are popping too easily these days.

[Spurt]

@gardenman 

ESPN's Lou Riddick sang the praises of the Eagles' offseason and said they loaded up Wentz with so many weapons.....

Instead of spending time going over new replay rules, why doesn't the league explore why all the ACL and other injuries?????? It could be as you say @gardenman over training and stressing ligaments and muscles and joints......making them more susceptible to injury.......Snyder had the training staff discuss training techniques with European Soccer Leagues....we will see if this helps any....

The Redskins placed Foster on IR and signed ILB Jon Bostic who has played with the Steelers, Colts, Patriots, and Bears.  @teganslaw have you heard of Bostic....????

Before the Redskins made this move there was a rumor the Redskins would do a trade deal with the Chiefs for Ragland---Chiefs changed their scheme and he longer fits with them but would fit in the Redskins scheme...but they would want either a 3rd round pick, possibly more, or get this...drum roll...Josh Norman...but that would be a heck of a lot of cap salary for the Chiefs to absorb, and leave a hole in the secondary for the Redskins......So I guess inquiries didn't mount to anything....

At Wednesday's Spring League Meeting, it was announced that Divisional Round games on Sunday will be moved back to 3 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. EST. They had previously started at 1:05 p.m. and 4:40 p.m. and will now match the start times for the conference championship games.

In addition, the single-header rule has been eliminated as a one-year test, so every market will get three games during Sundays in the regular season.

The league also announced Cleveland has been selected to host the 2021 NFL Draft, while Kansas City will host the 2023 NFL Draft

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

Louis Riddick is correct. Defensive coordinators will have nightmares trying to defend this Eagles offense. They've got one of the best and deepest offensive lines in football, two superb tight ends in Ertz and Goedert. A wide receiving corp that starts with Alshon Jeffery and DeSean Jackson, but includes Nelson Agholor and JJ Arcega-Whiteside and five or six NFL caliber guys behind them. At running back they've got Jordan Howard who's the third most effective runner over the past three years trailing just Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley, along with the kid Miles Sanders. Corey Clement, Boston Scott and Donnell Pumphrey are competing for the Darren Sproles role, but Sproles might even come back. If the starters get banged up in camp the Eagles still have Wendell Smallwood and Josh Adams in reserve.

If you're a defensive coordinator, how do you try to stop them? The Eagles come out in a two tight end running set, do you keep your linebackers on the field knowing they can't cover Ertz and Goedert should the Eagles pass from that formation? Do you go nickel or dime and hope Jordan Howard doesn't bowl over your smaller DB's who will likely be blocked by the two big tight ends? Do you double DeSean Jackson or hope your corner has the speed to run with him? If you slide a safety to help cover Jackson you're pretty much leaving Alshon Jeffery alone with a DB and likely a tight end on a linebacker. There are no good answers for defensive coordinators facing the Eagles.

Stay in your base defense and you suddenly find yourself with a linebacker trying to cover Ertz, Goedert, or a back out of the backfield. That's not good. Go nickel or dime and you shore up the pass defense but make running the ball easier and with Jordan Howard and Miles Sanders the Eagles have legitimate game breaker running backs who can score from anywhere on the field.

The best a defensive coordinator can hope for is for the Eagles to self-destruct with penalties on offense or dropped balls/turnovers. Stopping these weapons will be a very real challenge for defenses. Most corners can't match up with DeSean Jackson without deep help. Most corners can't out muscle Alshon Jeffery. No linebacker can cover Ertz/Goedert and even most safeties have a hard time. Add in a pair of prolific runners, a very strong and deep offensive line, a quarterback who is special (in a good way) and most teams will head into Philly knowing they'll have to score early and often.

Which brings us to the Eagles defense which has a dominating defensive line, more linebacker depth, and a solid secondary. In addition to Fletcher Cox, the Eagles added Malik Jackson, Hassan Ridgeway and Timmy Jernigan, along with the kid Treyvon Hester who got a finger on the Bears double-doink playoff field goal miss. There will be pressure up the middle of the field from that defensive tackle rotation and little to no running room up the middle. The defensive ends will be Derek Barnett and Brandon Graham with Vinny Curry, Josh Sweat, Joe Ostman, Shareef Miller and more rotating in. 

Quarterbacks won't have a lot of time to sit in the pocket and make decisions. They will be facing pressure on every pass. The running game will need to be a wide toss/sweep type approach, but the Eagles corners and safeties know this and are ready to crash down and make the tackle.

On paper, the Eagles look largely unbeatable right now, but sadly the games aren't played on paper. I wouldn't want to be a defensive coordinator trying to stop the Eagles offense. Even if you somehow take away everything, Wentz is an effective runner. I also wouldn't want to be a quarterback trying to face down the Eagles defense. You will be forced to make quick decisions and not have lots of time in the pocket. Mistakes will be made. Will the Eagles lose games? Yeah, stuff happens. Injuries pile up. Turnovers, dumb penalties, bad luck, can all cost you games. But right now, there's no offense in the league I'd trade for over this one. This is as talented and deep an offense as I've ever seen.

[gardenman]

@Spurt 

The Bostic signing could be good, but there's a bad omen there. The Redskins are his sixth team in five years. That's a lot for a guy who was a second round pick and fiftieth overall. Sometimes a guy moves because he's not a good fit in a scheme, but linebackers tend to be good special teams guys and hang around for a bit even if they don't fit a scheme perfectly. The six teams in five years is a bit ominous. He's got good measurables, but has gone through the Bears, Patriots, Lions, Colts and Steelers.  The Bears, Patriots and Steelers tend to get the most out of linebackers. Bostic being unable to stick with any of those teams is a bit unsettling. He was traded to the Patriots for a sixth round pick, then to the Lions for a seventh round pick. The Colts and Steelers signed him as a free agent. That's a lot of movement for a talented guy.

Dak Prescott's team has presented a counter-offer to the Cowboys. I'm guessing the Cowboys initial offer was somewhere between $25-$30 million a year and Dak's counter will more likely be in the $35-$40 million a year range. If I was betting, his deal will likely end up around $32-$34 million a year.

[gardenman]

I'm still hearing whispers about Jadeveon Clowney coming to the Eagles in a trade. I'm not sure how much I believe those whispers, but they could prove interesting. Note: If the trading price is too high the Eagles don't even have to trade for him as the Texans used a non-exclusive tag on him so for two future first round picks the Eagles could just sign him to a new deal unless the Texans matched the deal. Is Clowney worth two first round picks? Maybe. Especially if they're late first round picks. Would the Texans match any offer? Probably. They've got a decent amount of cap space floating around, though getting two first round picks might tempt them not to match the offer and let Clowney go. The Eagles currently have something like $27 million in cap space, so they could sign him.

[teganslaw]

Jon Bostic was a starting lineman with the Colts in 2017. He was a solid player with 97 tackles, third highest on the team. He was injured late in Dec. and placed on IR. I don't recall why Indy released him, maybe because of injuries? He didn't cause any problems while he was there. It could be a good signing.

[Spurt]

@teganslaw  @gardenman 

Yep, I was a bit concerned about Bostic with him being such a journeyman, but he seems to have played well no matter where he went--- we'll see.....not too many options out there....

Here's something interesting that may impact contract extensions and player re-signings...This may be what's keeping O linemans Scherff extension ongoing....and I was thinking about this regarding the Cowboys Zeke Elliott too....2020 is the final year of the CBA, and in 2021 and 2022 the NFL's deals with MNF, Fox, CBS, and NBC expire as well....so the team's salary cap picture may look very different in the near future...Someone guessed the new cap might be as high as $250 mill...So players may be reluctant to sign now and take a chance on betting on themselves and waiting for a richer future...But if an injury should happen or a suspension (in the case of Elliott you never know)..where is the player then????  

I thought this was an interesting point...

[gardenman]

I don't think the new CBA and TV contracts will affect the higher paid guys all that much, but it should help the guys lower down on the payscale. If you've got a $120 million deal, do you really need more? It's likely the rookies and lower tier guys who will benefit the most.

When the last CBA was negotiated most of those doing the negotiating on the players' side were vets who were annoyed at rookies like Sam Bradford making more than them without ever playing a down. Now those doing the negotiations came in under the rookie pay scale and will likely want those inequities changed, so future rookies make more. Any real increase in revenue will likely end up going more towards the bottom of the roster guys this time around. Rookies went from being way overpaid to way underpaid, so some smoothing will likely take place there. Dak Prescott made $450,000 his rookie season while many backups made ten times as much. A starting veteran QB making $25 million a year made fifty-five times what Dak made and may not have performed as well. I suspect the kids who came up under that rookie pay scale will want that addressed.

The Eagles survived the first week of OTA's with no major injuries, so that's good. Hopefully it continues. In fact, pretty much nothing negative has come from the OTA's. The rookies look solid. The returning players look crisp and ready to go. Even the press has had to admit they might have been wrong about Clayton Thorson as he's looked good.

[Spurt]

OMG! Does this guy have an ego or what?????!!!!

Donovan McNabb continues to be of the belief that he deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  In an interview with TMZ Sports McNabb said,  "I'm not hesitating on that. I am a Hall of Famer. My numbers speak for itself". ... My numbers are better than Troy Aikman's but he has Super Bowl rings and he's played with Hall of Famers as well.  When they look at my numbers, yeah, but then they always want to add other stuff into it. 'Was he an All-Pro? Was he this? How many Super Bowl opportunities?' But people don't realize how hard it is to get to the NFC Championship. And to get there five times, then make it to a Super Bowl? It's tough."

Hey Donovan, maybe, just maybe it's the "other stuff".....Chris Simms called him, "One of the best, worst quarterbacks of all times"...and added "stats dont always tell the story"...and I add a hearty AMEN..Florio added...McNabb was never an MVP, 25th all time in passing yards, and 30th all time in passing touchdowns...He's behind Boomer Esiaion, Tony Romo, Drew Bledsoe...not enough in victories, and mediocre in stats...

And speaking of QBs with egos...Joey Porter former Steeler and Steeler Assistant Coach, doesn't think too highly of QB Big Ben, he said he does have alot of power and uses it for himself and used it to put himself above the rest of the team......“You want your locker room to love you,” Porter said.

A good point made about the Cowboys on a local sports talk show...The Cowboys need a new head coach.....Of course Jerry likes the way he can control Garrett and that seems to be more important than moving forward.....

GAME OVER-- "Pacman" Jones retires....

This was funny..."you know you're getting old when" and a bit too much TMI,,,,,,Fact of the day:ESPN NFL LIVE host, Wendi Nix, babysat Raiders’ rookie WR Hunter Renfrow and, in the too-much-information category, even changed his diapers. Nix and Renfrow are alumnis of Socastee High School in Myrtle Beach, SC, where Nix was a three-time homecoming queen. 

Andrew Luck and Tom Hanks...

[gardenman]

Sorry to hear about Bart Starr passing. 

McNabb is just an idiot. He's not a Hall of Famer. I think he's the third best Eagle QB in recent memory behind Cunningham and Jaworski. I think Wentz will pass the rest if he stays healthy.

The Cowboys are developing a very incestuous offensive coaching staff. Pretty much all of their top guys are their former QB's. You don't see that on most teams. Garrett's the head coach, Kellen Moore's the OC, and Jon Kitna's the QB coach. They don't seem willing to embrace differing philosophies.